Elevation

Elevation refers to how high or low a place is in relation to sea level.

But what is sea level? It’s the average height of the ocean’s surface, measured between high and low tides. Scientists use this as a baseline to measure elevation for landforms.

This baseline is important in understanding topography, which describes the shape of the land, including its height or depth relative to sea level.

For example, a satellite image of California illustrates this: the towering snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada represent high elevations, while the smooth, wide San Joaquin Valley showcases low, flat areas.

Relief includes all the landforms around us, like mountains, hills, and lava flows, based on differences in elevation. An example of this is the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, where steep and dramatic elevation changes beautifully showcase the concept of relief.

Imagine how your location might look if you could see it in the third dimension.